It Flew Over the Rainbow
by Crystal Mizuka
Summary: Was the mysterious pokemon Ash saw on the first day of his journey really Ho-oh? What if it was something else? Revised Version.


Disclaimer: The characters and situations mentioned in this fanfiction do not belong to me.  
  
Author's Notes: This is my first Pocket Monsters based fanfiction and as of yet I do not have plans to write more of them. To my friends who have asked "Why Pokemon?" I'll just say that this story demanded to be written. By the way, for my purposes this story will take place directly after the Johto League competition. Of course, the episodes revolving around this event haven't been shown in English yet, so this takes place as it would if Ash does not actually win the competition. I will also be refering to the mysterious flying pokemon that flew over the rainbow in the first episode as No-sei.  
  
------Key------  
  
"......"-talking  
  
~......~-thinking  
  
**......**-exagerated noises  
  
[......]-author's notes  
  
------Introduction------  
  
It all started simply enough. Pikachu had saved the day when he struck down the flock of Spearow with a powerful Thunder attack. The Spearow were gone and the sky had cleared as Ash headed off towards Viridian City to visit the Pokemon Center and have Pikachu treated by the local Nurse Joy.  
  
A rainbow formed in the sky and a mysterious golden bird flew overhead. As this mysterious pokemon passed overhead, Ash wondered what it was. Dexter could not identify the mysterious flying pokemon and said that there were still many species of pokemon that had yet to be discovered.  
  
After hearing the stories of Ho-oh and the Tin Tower in Ecruteak City, it started to sound more and more like the mysterious flying pokemon Ash had seen that day was in fact the legendary Ho-oh. Supposedly Ho-oh, like the three legendary dogs, Raikou, Entei and Suicune; is unique to the Johto Region. Another fact is that Ho-oh is widely known as the mystical pokemon of seven colors or the legendary flying pokemon of the rainbow wings.  
  
It is true that there were many similarities between the mysterious pokemon that Ash saw flying over the rainbow and Ho-oh, but the differences seem a little too extreme. The fact remains, if the mysterious pokemon wasn't Ho- oh, what was it?  
  
What did become of that mysterious golden pokemon that flew over the rainbow?  
  
------It Flew Over the Rainbow------  
  
An assortment of Team Rocket Grunts were surrounding someone just outside of the Viridian City Gym. Upon further inspection, this someone was also wearing a standard Team Rocket Uniform. Specifically, this someone was wearing the male version of the Team Rocket Uniform. The strange thing was the fact that this someone was definately a girl.  
  
She had long electric blue hair tied in a thick ponytail down her back. Her bangs were spiky in the front with two longer sections off to the sides. She had brilliant blue-green eyes and looked like she was probably 14 years old. Needless to say, the uniform was clearly too big for her and made it incredibly obvious that she was not really a member of Team Rocket. The defiant look on the girl's face suggested that she was actually surprised that these knuckleheads hadn't figured her out sooner.  
  
The girl was holding an Eevee in her arms. This Eevee was rather unusual in the sense that it had snowy, white fur. Aside from that, it was definately an Eevee. There was also a Pichu located on the girl's shoulder.  
  
"You made a serious mistake thinking you could spy on Team Rocket and get away with it," said one of the Grunts fiercely.  
  
The girl was surrounded from all sides, but instead of looking fearful, she smirked, "That's interesting considering you don't stand a chance against someone like me."  
  
The Grunt in question removed a pokeball from concealment and unleashed the pokemon that was inside. It was a reasonably menacing looking Rhydon. The Rhydon roared loudly.  
  
The girl continued to hold onto the Eevee in one arm, while she used her free hand to select a pokeball from her belt. She released the pokemon from the pokeball and it turned out to be a rather powerful looking Charizard.  
  
"Rhydon, use Take Down!" ordered the Grunt.  
  
The girl continued to smirk, "Charizard, stop that Rhydon in its tracks with Strength!"  
  
The Rhydon charged at the Charizard and the two pokemon ended up locking hands in a fierce battle to knock the other back. Both pokemon appeared to be about evenly matched.  
  
"Charizard, blow it away with your Fire Spin!" stated the girl.  
  
The Charizard released the Rhydon as it took off into the air, causing the Rhydon to topple over from the momentum it had been building up before it was actually able to move forward. The ground shook as the Rhydon hit it. The Charizard aimed downward and unleashed the tornado of fire that was its Fire Spin attack. When the tornado was gone, the Rhydon was laying on the ground with swirls for eyes.  
  
While the circle of Team Rocket Grunts continued to stare in wonder, the Charizard landed over by its trainer. The girl climbed on and was lifted into the night sky.  
  
The girl called down, "Send my regards to Giovanni! He won't be permitted to capture No-sei!"  
  
The girl, her Eevee and Pichu, and her Charizard all vanished into the horizon.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
An odd series of coincidences [that are entirely trivial to the progress of this story] resulted in the fact that Ash, Misty, Brock, Richie and Duplika were headed for Pallet Town. Ash and Richie of course had Pikachu and Sparky conveniently located on their shoulders.  
  
As anyone can guess, no amount of traveling done by our heroes is even complete without a special appearence by Team Rocket. This time was no exception. The infamous Meowth Head Balloon appeared in the sky and our heroes could only guess what would come next.  
  
"Prepare for trouble," started Jessie from the safety of her spot in the balloon.  
  
"Make it double," continued James.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation."  
  
"To unite all peoples within our nation."  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."  
  
"Jessie!"  
  
"James!"  
  
"Team rocket, blast off at the speed of light."  
  
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight."  
  
"Meowth! That's right!"  
  
"Wabbuffet!"  
  
Ash, Misty, Brock, Richie and Duplika all stared blankly at Team Rocket.  
  
"Who said you were part of this plan," said Jessie sounding annoyed as she recalled Wabbuffet.  
  
Ash sweatdropped, "Don't you three ever stop?"  
  
"Not until we get Pikachu," stated Meowth.  
  
"Pikachu," said Ash.  
  
"Sparky," said Richie.  
  
"Thunderbolt!"  
  
"PIIIKA CHUUU!!!"  
  
"Look's like Team Rockets blasting off again!" Team Rocket along with their balloon flew off into the horizon.  
  
**Ping**  
  
"Don't they ever learn?" asked Richie.  
  
"Apparently not," said Duplika.  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
The sun started to set and the group consisting of Ash, Misty, Brock, Richie and Duplika decided to set up camp for the night. They were right in the middle of Route 1 which meant that there wasn't much more distance to cover on the way to Pallet Town, but Ash's stomach had demanded dinner.  
  
It wasn't until later when it was actually dark that things started to get interesting. There was a trainer that seemed to be in a rush to get to Pallet Town traveling with a white Eevee and a Pichu. The strange thing was that this trainer, who was definately female, was wearing the male version fo the Team Rocket uniform.  
  
"Stop right there!" Ash reflexively reacted to the situation as though he were dealing with a real member of Team Rocket. Of course, he wasn't aware that this trainer was not with Team Rocket.  
  
The girl stopped in her tracks, as did the white Eevee that was running beside her. The Pichu was located on the girl's shoulder.  
  
"I'm kind of in a hurry here," noted the girl.  
  
"Who are you trying to escape from?" questioned Misty.  
  
The girl looked down at herself and a sweatdrop formed as she realized she was still wearing the Team Rocket outfit. She quickly discarded it to reveal that she was wearing blue jeans and a silver tank-top underneath it.  
  
"I'm not with Team Rocket, if that's what you were thinking," said the girl. "My name is Sapphire and I'm trying to stop Team Rocket."  
  
Brock had already flown off to planet Brock, "Excuse me miss, but what kind of trouble has Team Rocket caused for you?"  
  
Misty dragged Brock away by the ear while the others continued asking the questions.  
  
"If you're trying to stop Team Rocket, why were you dressed in one of their uniforms?" asked Richie.  
  
"I was trying to spy on their latest plans, but they figured me out and I escaped," replied Sapphire. "I don't plan to let them capture No-sei."  
  
"No-sei?" Ash, Richie and Duplika all looked thoroughly confused by that.  
  
"It's a long story," replied Sapphire.  
  
Brock had returned, "No-sei must be a legendary pokemon if Team Rocket is after it."  
  
"That's definately true," said Misty.  
  
"Do you happen to know what kind of legendary pokemon it is, Sapphire?" asked Ash.  
  
"From what I know, No-sei is a golden flying pokemon that appears when the sky clears after a thunderstorm," replied Sapphire.  
  
"Ash, you don't think she's talking about the same flying pokemon you saw on the first day of your trainers journey, do you?" asked Misty.  
  
Ash said, "It could be. Sapphire, where does No-sei appear?"  
  
"Right along this path actually," answered Sapphire.  
  
"Yes, I think it could be the same pokemon," confirmed Ash.  
  
Richie said, "That settles it, we have to stop Team Rocket from capture No- sei."  
  
Clouds formed in the sky and thunder began to sound. A few minutes later a heavy rain was falling and lightning was flashing brightly across the sky.  
  
"We don't have a lot of time," said Brock.  
  
Duplika said, "And I have the perfect plan to get us close to the action without having to deal with Team Rocket too much."  
  
"This sounds familiar," said Misty.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Is it my imagination, or do there seem to be more twerps and rare pokemon every time we see them?" asked James from where he had landed in one of the trees surrounding Route 1.  
  
Meowth said, "If it wasn't for that girl with the Ditto, I'd be curious about where they got those Team Rocket Uniforms."  
  
"Come to think of it, why do you suppose they are headed off in those uniforms?" asked Jessie.  
  
"This could be interesting," said Meowth.  
  
"Why don't I like the sound of this?" mumbled James.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
So far the plan seemed to be working. As the group consisting of Ash, Misty, Brock, Richie, Duplika and Sapphire headed down Route 1, the Team Rocket Grunts that seemed to be everywhere simply ignored them. The rain was pouring from the sky in buckets.  
  
It seemed likely that Giovanni was probably monitoring everything from a safe location that was centered in the middle of the stormy area. After all, that was probably where the mysterious No-sei would appear when the sky cleared.  
  
Everything seemed to be going smoothly up until three figures appeared in front of the group.  
  
"You kids won't be going any further," said a Team Rocket Grunt. It was the same one that Sapphire had dealt with before.  
  
Duplika said, "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?"  
  
A series of spotlights seemed to appear from nowhere as the familiar, dramatic music that went along with a standard Team Rocket entrance began playing. If a bystander had been watching, they would have reached the conclusion that the group had somehow rehearsed this event. By this time many more Grunts had gathered around the first one, mostly to figure out what was going on.  
  
"Prepare for more trouble than you'll ever see," started Ash.  
  
"This is a one-time event you won't find on TV," continued Misty.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation," added Brock.  
  
"To unite all peoples within our nation," continued Richie.  
  
"To defend the goodness of truth and love," added Sapphire.  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above," continued Duplika.  
  
"Ash!"  
  
"Misty!"  
  
"Brock!"  
  
"Richie!"  
  
"And Sapphire!"  
  
"Duplika! That's right!"  
  
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light," continued Ash, Brock and Richie.  
  
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight all of us," added Misty, Duplika and Sapphire.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Those twerps really know how to make a mockery of our motto," growled Jessie.  
  
James said, "Actually, I think they were very inventive."  
  
"James, are you siding with the enemy?" asked Jessie somewhat menacingly.  
  
"Of course," not said James in an attempt to save himself from Jessie's wrath.  
  
Meowth interupted, "At any rate, even those twerps don't stand a chance against that many Team Rocket officers. When they're finished battling, we can steal Pikachu and all their other rare and valuable pokemon."  
  
"I like the way you're thinking Meowth," said Jessie.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The Team Rocket Grunts had unleashed an assortment of normal and poison type pokemon. There were several Rattata, Raticate, Gastly, Zubat, Grimer and even a Muk, Nidoking and Nidoqueen amongst them.  
  
"Bayleef, Totodile, I choose you!" exclaimed Ash as he unleashed the grass type and water type pokemon into battle.  
  
"Politoed, Staryu, you can help too," said Misty as she unleashed the two water pokemon.  
  
"Ditto, Mini Dits, you're in too," said Duplika unleashing the two transforming pokemon.  
  
"In the rain, Charizard isn't much for battling, but that isn't going to stop me from helping. Arcanine, let's show these Rockets what we're made of," said Sapphire unleashing the fire pokemon.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Did that girl say she has a Charizard and an Arcanine?" Meowth blinked.  
  
"She must have treasure trove of rare pokemon," said Jessie.  
  
James said, "I'd say at least four."  
  
"We're here for Pikachu," informed Meowth.  
  
"It wouldn't hurt for us to get some other pokemon while we're at it," noted Jessie.  
  
"It would certainly help our ranking with the boss," said James.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Eventually all of the Team Rocket Grunts were beaten and retreated back to where ever it was they had come from in the first place. The pokemon that had been battling were exhausted from the long battle and were recalled by their trainers. The sun began to break through the clouds.  
  
Ash, Misty, Brock, Richie, Duplika and Sapphire continued on their way to reach Giovanni's location to stop him from capturing No-sei.  
  
"Prepare for trouble," started the familiar voice of Jessie as she jumped down from a tree up ahead of the traveling group.  
  
"Make that double," continued James jumping down from another tree and landing next to Jessie.  
  
"Forget the motto, we've don't want to ruin our chance of finally beating the twerp," said Meowth jumping down from a third tree and landing in front of Jessie and James.  
  
"We've already done it once in this episode anyway," said James.  
  
Jessie decided to cut to the chase, "Hand over Pikachu and all your other rare pokemon!"  
  
Misty said, "Ash, Richie, Sapphire, you three better keep searching for Giovanni. Brock and I can handle Team Rocket."  
  
"Yeah, my pokemon are both exhausted, so I should probably stay here too," agreed Duplika.  
  
Sapphire said, "Giovanni is probably in the direction all of those Team Rocket Grunts retreated in."  
  
"Let's go," said Ash.  
  
The rain had stopped falling from the sky and the clouds were starting to separate. Jessie and James unleashed Arbok and Weezing. Misty and Brock unleashed Corsola and Onix.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The sky cleared and a short distance off a rainbow was indeed forming in the sky. This was followed by a mysterious, golden flying pokemon appearing in the sky above it. This was also followed by an unusual amount of lightning being sent after the mysterious, flying pokemon in the sky.  
  
"There's No-sei," said Richie.  
  
"And Giovanni must be nearby," said Ash.  
  
Sapphire said, "We can use our pokemon to redirect those lightning blasts."  
  
"How can we do that?" asked Ash.  
  
"It's simple, Pikachu and Sparky will act like lightning rods and deflect the lightning away from No-sei," explained Richie.  
  
Sapphire said, "Pichu can help too."  
  
"I thought Pichu had trouble controlling their electricity," noted Ash.  
  
"Mine doesn't," replied Sapphire.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A short distance off, in the path of Rout 1, stood Giovanni watching the golden, flying pokemon in the sky. A series of Team Rocket Grunts, that looked like they were probably a higher rank than the ones that had already been beaten stood before him. There were also a number of Magneton, Magnamite, Electabuzz and Jolteon position in front of the Grunts.  
  
The electric pokemon were launching Thunderbolt and Thunder attacks at the flying pokemon that was still starting to makes its pass over the rainbow. This was true, until the lightning started curving in another direction, away from the flying pokemon.  
  
No-sei passed over the rainbow and seemingly vanished afterwards. Giovanni shouted in anger as his prize vanished before his eyes. He didn't enjoy seeing his plan fail.  
  
Off in the bushes a little ways off, Giovanni noticed Ash, Richie and Sapphire with their pokemon that had diverted the attacks that were meant to strike down No-sei.  
  
He pointed in that direction, "Don't let those fake Rockets get away!"  
  
Some very angry looking electric pokemon started converging on the area where Ash, Richie and Sapphire had revealed themselves to be.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Looks like Team Rockets blasting off again!" exclaimed Jessie, James and Meowth as they were sent flying once again.  
  
**Ping**  
  
"Now that we've settled that mess, let's catch up with the others," suggested Misty.  
  
"Good idea," agreed Brock.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Cyndaquil, I choose you!" exclaimed Ash as he unleashed the fire pokemon.  
  
"Zippo, your up," stated Richie as he unleashed his Charmeleon.  
  
"You too Quilava, Charizard," added Sapphire as she unleashed her own fire pokemon.  
  
"Flamethrower!" shouted all three trainers.  
  
The Team Rocket Grunts and their electric pokemon were all sent flying in various directions across the sky. Giovanni had made his escape, but at least No-sei was safe for the time being.  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
Ash, Misty, Brock, Richie, Duplika and Sapphire regrouped along Route 1. They had since changed out of the Team Rocket outfits and were preparing to go their separate ways.  
  
"We didn't get Giovanni, but No-sei should be safe until the next time," said Sapphire.  
  
Ash couldn't help asking, "Just what kind of trainer are you anyway?"  
  
"I think you could have figured that out by now, I specialize in fire pokemon," replied Sapphire.  
  
"We're definately going to have to battle someday," said Ash.  
  
"Well, my pokemon are all pretty exhausted after all that, but next time you're in the area you can look me up," said Sapphire. "I plan to stick around to keep tabs on Team Rocket."  
  
"I wouldn't mind a match myself," said Richie.  
  
"Well, I definately can't battle you all at once," sweatdropped Sapphire.  
  
"Take care of yourself," called the group consisting of Ash, Misty, Brock, Richie and Duplika as they continued on their way to Pallet Town.  
  
Sapphire started in the opposite direction, towards Viridian City along with her Pichu and Eevee.  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
"That was quite an adventure," said Ash.  
  
"I'm sure there will be plenty more," added Richie.  
  
"And we'll be ready for them," said Duplika.  
  
"Pikachu," agreed Pikachu and Sparky.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Even when they seem to be down we manage to lose," whined James.  
  
"Quit complaining and focus on getting out of this tree," growled Jessie.  
  
James said, "But we're too high up."  
  
"Don't look now, but these Kakuna are hatching," said Meowth.  
  
"Ahh!" Team Rocket jumped out of the tree and started running from the angry Beedrill.  
  
"Looks like Team Rockets running off again!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The End.  
  
------Author's Notes------  
  
This is actually my revised version of this particular story, because it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to the first time I wrote it. I am aware that there are a few things I should probably explain.  
  
Why No-sei?  
  
When my friends and I first came across pokemon, in the form of the first season of the Anime and the Red and Blue versions of the video games, there was no mention of a Johto Region. In fact, to the extent of my knowledge, no one knew that the area we had been exploring in the games was actually called Kanto. One of us went on the internet at some point and got the idea that the legendary pokemon that flew over the rainbow was called No- sei and the name just kind of stuck. I know the Anime has since confirmed that it was Ho-oh, but I still like to think it was something different.  
  
Who is Sapphire?  
  
For this story I decided to create a character that could link the events of this story with the characters from the Anime. As it turns out, I decided it would be fun to name the character after one of the games that is soon to be released. The basis of this trainer specializing in fire pokemon is because I, myself am partial to using the fire element pokemon.  
  
Why a white Eevee?  
  
Those of us who have played Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal are familiar with Shiny Pokemon. These are Pokemon that are slightly different from the other pokemon of their variety. When pokemon first became a hit, I ended up getting an Eevee figure, but it was white. At first I thought it was some odd, new evolution of Eevee that was going to come out in the new games, which at the time were Gold and Silver. Now I just consider it to be like those Shiny Pokemon, an extra rare version of an already rare pokemon. 


End file.
